The Final Score: Rudy "The Destroyer" Returns

During Rudy Distrito’s memorable years in the PBA, Ginebra’s original bad boy occasionally played like a thug. In the darkest moment of his life, when reason apparently gave way to rage, he became one for real. Distrito was one of several PBA enforcers who made hardcourt mayhem an art form. Distrito is like Michael Corleone or Tony Soprano. They’re villains because they do bad things. In a bizarre way, they’re heroes, too, because they put so much effort into doing what they do. He is both reviled and revered.

Deep down we respect PBA enforcers. Although they endanger careers, even lives, with hard fouls and poor judgment, enforcers aren’t apathetic. They hate it when they’re upstaged. They hate teammates who are soft. They hate to lose. Distrito wore machismo like a badge of honor and the tag “enforcer" like a gold medal in the Olympic Games. Fans abhor sluggish pros who relish in the comfort of fat paychecks. Fans, however, like enforcers who go all-out all the time. We like enforcers because they give a damn. It’s hard to classify Distrito simply as basketball hooligan. He was rugged on defense and gifted on offense. Imagine Sol Mercado in short shorts with a mean streak. Distrito regularly dismantled defenses in the open-court. He forced defenders to give way, not by his speed, but by sheer will. Of course, most remember how Distrito attempted to dismantle body parts of opponents during fast-break situations. Many remember Distrito’s shot-of-a-lifetime to win Game 7 of the 1991 title series against Shell the way they recall the day man landed on the moon. I still remember how the earth shook in La Loma after Distrito sank that baseline fade-away. With the same fervor, many also remember how Distrito brawled with the Loyzagas (King Caloy included) and how he almost sent Jeffrey Cariaso into early retirement. How should we look at Distrito now? Legend? Parolee? Balik-bayan? Reformed citizen? Humbled human being? He used to dish out elbows, forearms, whacks and slaps the way Santa Claus distributes gifts on Christmas day. Distrito did it because he wanted to win. It’s 2010, 19 years since his buzzer-beater heard around the Philippines, and Rudy attempts to rebound from his harshest penalty to date. Back in the day, “The Destroyer" had coast-to-coast layups to give and hard fouls to offer. Today, he starts rebuilding a life shattered by a flash of anger. In his quiet homecoming, he arrives with neither the swagger of a man who made it big nor the boxes filled with bounty – that tangible proof that the American dream is for real. Instead, Distrito is back in the country flanked by US Marshalls, scarred by real-life mayhem, armed with cautionary tales. - GMANews.TV